So, You Wanna Build a Home? 6 Steps to Stop Dreaming and Start Building!
As we’re in the process of planning our new house build, I thought it would be the perfect time to sit down with my handsome and handy husband, Jason (who is a licensed builder!), to give you some insight on the steps to building a brand new home!
01. It all starts with a budget.
There’s probably no surprise here, but determining your budget will help to figure out the size, style, location, and finishes for your new home, because you can only work with you got! So we would recommend to start by picking a comfortable mortgage payment amount and playing with a mortgage calculator online until you come with a monthly payment that will work and feel good for you.
Building a house is basically a big numbers game, once you’ve identified your budget, it’s time to gather information to plan a house around that budget.
02. The site selection:
With choosing the right site for your new build, you have to take all the considerations that factor into the right piece of property for you and your needs/budget, some things to note about the property:
(Depending on where you are looking to build, whether the county or a nice lot in town, these things may not even come into play at all.)
Zoning is the most important (IMO) factor because this limits your options or flexibility in some cases. (You can check with the city or town you’re looking to buy the land in to figure out the zoning)
Available utilities is another big factor, municipal hook ups for water, sewer, and natural gas can be a huge cost savings. Proximity to power, long lengths of electricity is really expensive.
If you’re looking to build in the country, there is. good chance you’ll need a Perk test, which health departments need for your sewer system.
03. Choosing + purchasing a house plan:
The house plan that you choose will ultimately drive the finish cost of your home, it directly effects how much it will cost to build. Be conscious of the size, shape, and roof style if you are looking to keep it more affordable!
There are a ton of house plans all over the internet, and I feel like we’ve seen them all at this point, so we’ll save you some time in your search and send you to our favorite sights with the best selection of plans (IMO): Architectural Designs, Advanced House Plans, and America’s Best House Plans.
It’s likely that no house plan will be the absolutely perfect fit for you and your family, but you can also customize plans that you find on these websites as well (for an extra cost).
You can also look into hiring a local architect or builder in your area to help design your new home.
04. determining the material and finishes:
As I’m sure you’re aware, building a house requires thousands of decisions—everything from the ground up, the large details like the flooring you love to the small details like the thickness of the window trim.
The materials and finishes you use to build your home can have a great impact on cost. In some cases its best to use an allowance for certain finishes, this lets you pick out a finish that you’ll like for a pre-determined price. Keep in mind, the true cost of some materials and finishes will change depending if you are self-building or hiring out the work.
Oh and if you need some help deciding on the design and decor finishes, we’d be more than happy to help ya out! Head over to our Design Services for more info. :)
05. Who’s going to build your home?
Will you be self-building or hiring a contractor? The entire home building process is very complex and it requires a lot of scheduling, planning and technical know-how, so it is generally best to hire an experienced licensed builder.
If you decide to self-build, you can act as the general contractor and hire out portions of the work that you are not comfortable completing. With this, you will have the responsibility of managing your entire home build, which includes lots of scheduling, communication, and logistics.
06. Finalizing the financing.
Now that you have determined the who, what, where, and when of your house building plans, it’s time to gather up all of your plans and estimates to bring to the bank to get approval for a construction loan.
A construction loan is typically a 12-month draw, meaning that you take money out of an escrow account as needed to complete the house. During that draw period, the money that you take out, you pay interest only on. Once the build is complete, you will close into a fixed rate mortgage. As you get closer to the end of your build, the monthly payment will increase based on how much money you’ve drawn out.
07. It’s game on!
Now it’s time to bring your home to life! Of course there will be hurdles and challenges along the way, but these steps will get you on the right track to stop dreaming and start building your brand new home!
I hope this was helpful to you as you’re looking into possibly building a brand new home! If you are local to the Keweenaw and interested in more information about building a home here—you can shoot at email to raasiohomes@gmail.com to chat with Shane or Jason.